


The One Where Ross Returns from China Without a Girlfriend

by thejoker (definekjd)



Category: Friends (TV)
Genre: Airports, Alternate Ending, F/M, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-12 01:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18001202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/definekjd/pseuds/thejoker
Summary: Rachel finds out Ross is in love with her and decides to pick him up from the airport with a bouquet of flowers -- and something else.





	The One Where Ross Returns from China Without a Girlfriend

**Author's Note:**

> unbeta'ed.
> 
> i'm a thousand years late to watching the friends series and am not satisfied with the ending of s1 so here have an alternate ending.

After a whole week of trying to convince the museum people in China to let them have the bone, Ross almost can't believe that he's finally back here in NYC. Ah, the city, home sweet home.

He hasn't been expecting anyone to fetch him at the airport, not even Monica who has a copy of his itinerary since she's usually busy preparing dinner at this time of the day, but he's still caught off-guard when he sees -- standing amongst the crowd at the gate with her hair in a beautiful updo and a bouquet of flowers in hand -- Rachel.

Their eyes meet. Ross fiddles with the strap of his satchel as he walks up to meet Rachel halfway. "Hey, I wasn't expecting you to mmmph --"

He _sure as hell_ was not expecting to come home to an armful of Rachel, the bouquet of flowers squeezed between their chests and Rachel's mouth on _his_ mouth.

Oh. Oh, _wow_.

Ross might very much be dreaming right now. For all he knows, he's going to wake up on one of the economy seats on his flight to JFK that's tiny and uncomfortable and gives him multiple leg cramps, any time... now.

Rachel pulls away, and Ross opens his eyes to her smiling at him somewhat nervously.

"Whaaa," Ross articulates, intelligently.

Rachel licks over her lips, one of her hands smoothing down the lapel of Ross' suit jacket. "Was that okay?"

"Um," Ross says.

"Look," Rachel says, clearing her throat. "I'm sorry for not noticing this sooner."

Ross feels like he might combust. "About what?" he stammers.

Rachel bites into her bottom lip, glancing down briefly in thought before looking up again, staring at Ross from under her beautiful lashes. "That you're in love with me?"

Ross might _really_ combust. "Hah! That is _so_ funny," he says loudly, taking his hands off Rachel and stepping away. Quickly, he catches the bouquet before it falls. "Um. Who told you?"

"Technically, Chandler," Rachel says. Ross has a brief moment of thinking, _that traitor_ , before Rachel continues, "But also my imagination of you."

"Your imagination of me?" Ross repeats, suddenly feeling a little dizzy and too aware of everything all at once.

Rachel nods.

Fuck, fuck, _fuck_. The longtime love of his life has just kissed him, of her own volition, for the _second time_ , and suddenly his mind is filled with too many things at the same time -- although the most conspicuous of it all is one that says, in bold capital letters and suspiciously sounds a lot like Chandler, _NOW IS THE TIME YOU IDIOT_.

"Rachel?" Ross says.

"Yeah?" Rachel says.

"I've -- I, uh -- I" -- screw all these goddamn nerves -- "Rachel, I have -- I've got something to tell you. Please don't be mad at me." There, that was easy. Now, for the other shoe -- "I've liked you since --"

"Since ninth grade, yeah, I know," finishes Rachel.

Ross stares. Blinks. Blinks again. "How --"

"My imagination of you told me," Rachel says, smiling sweetly.

Ross is kind of really confused. "Oh," he says.

"Uh huh," says Rachel, nodding. "He -- well, _you_ , hah -- kissed me and it was like that day at the laundromat which was great but this one was _better_ because imagination-you actually kissed back. I was hoping real-you would kiss me back just now, too."

Wow, that is a lot to take in.

Ross looks at Rachel now, with her cute little necklace and the earrings that match and the way that her fringe shapes her face nicely. And her beautiful eyes and her beautiful nose and her beautiful, beautiful lips.

Ross could kiss her. He could definitely do that.

"I can do that," he says, wrenching out the stupid label in his head that says 'coward' and trampling it under his shoe -- and kisses her.

It's a shame that one of his hands is busy holding a bouquet when he could be touching Rachel with both of his hands, so he lets go of the bouquet entirely and wraps his arms around her. She's so tiny, and her mouth is so soft and so _warm_ against him like this he can imagine kissing her for days on end, _could_ do that, if they weren't standing in the middle of an airport surrounded by hundreds of onlookers.

Rachel's fingers play with the short hairs on Ross' nape as he pulls away, keeping her close still so that he can feel the warmth of her breath that fans across his cheeks, and the chill where their noses touch.

"I know this is late but," Ross says, his voice low between them, "happy birthday."

Rachel smiles. Her hands cradle Ross' cheeks and slide down his neck to rest on his shoulders, brushing down the material of his suit jacket. "Thanks," she says. "Your shoulders look even broader today."

Ross actually _laughs_ at that, even as he feels his cheeks heating up in embarrassment. "And you're as beautiful as always," he voices out loud, reaching a hand up to thumb over her soft cheek.

They kiss again, a little shorter but a bit more breathless this time, and when they pull apart, Rachel is smiling again. At this point Ross is nearly convinced that it's the one single thing that keeps his heart beating.

"Um, Ross?" Rachel says.

"Yeah?" Ross says.

"I don't like you," Rachel says, " _yet_ , not like that." She thumbs over Ross' jawline, smooths her hands down the buttons of his shirt. "But if you give me time, I can try to do that."

"Yeah," Ross says, running his hands up and down the small of Rachel's back. "Yeah. Of course." If he's spent more than ten years loving her without her returning his feelings, he can wait for another ten years for her to love him back. "For now, though, we need to evacuate because I'm pretty sure we're blocking the arrival gate and a couple of security people are throwing imaginary daggers at your head with their eyes."

That gets Rachel laughing, and then she's pulling Ross forward with her hand in his as Ross quickly reaches down with his free hand to take the discarded flower bouquet.

"You starving?" Rachel asks, as Ross walks up beside her, keeping his strides shorter so she doesn't have to keep up with him.

"Oh, yeah," Ross says, squeezing her hand. "What's cooking?"

"Hm," Rachel ponders. "I don't know." Her body is warm as she presses close to Ross' side, their intertwined fingers tight between them. "But I'm sure Monica's whipped up something real delicious."

Ross is grinning so hard his cheeks hurt, and his heart is so full it feels too big for his chest. "Yeah. I don't doubt that."

**Author's Note:**

> and now onto season two >>>


End file.
